After a 29-year exile from October, the Kansas City Royals are on the verge of sweeping past the Los Angeles Angels and storming into the American League Championship Series.
The Royals are taking apart the Angels, the team with the best record in the regular season, thanks to a combination of unreal speed, perfectly timed home runs and lights-out pitching. With Game 3 of the American League Division Series looming at 6:37 p.m. ET on Sunday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, the Angels are sitting in an 0-2 hole.
Of the 22 teams that have ended up in such a situation, only four have found their way out, according to Zach Helfand of the Los Angeles Times. Here are the three keys for each club as the Royals look to put an end to the Angels’ 2014 season, while the AL West winners hope to extend it for at least another day.